A look at the candidates for Senate and the issues in Tuesday's primary

For the third time in 18 months, Massachusetts voters on Tuesday will decide a U.S. Senate primary. This race will decide the Democratic and Republican candidates for the seat vacated by John Kerry, who was nominated Secretary of State. It is the first time the seat has been open since Kerry won it in 1984.

By Jack Encarnacao

MetroWest Daily News, Framingham, MA

By Jack Encarnacao

Posted Apr. 27, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Apr 27, 2013 at 7:08 AM

By Jack Encarnacao

Posted Apr. 27, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Apr 27, 2013 at 7:08 AM

» Social News

For the third time in 18 months, Massachusetts voters on Tuesday will decide a U.S. Senate primary.

This race will decide the Democratic and Republican candidates for the seat vacated by John Kerry, who was nominated Secretary of State. It is the first time the seat has been open since Kerry won it in 1984.

Independent voters may take either a Republican or Democratic ballot while maintaining their unenrolled status.

After 37 years in the House of Representatives, Rep. Edward Markey is favored by the national Democratic establishment. Lynch, a Congressman from South Boston since 2001, who recently had Quincy and several South Shore communities added to his district, is making a concerted pitch to un-enrolled, conservative voters.

The Boston Marathon bombings brought renewed attention to homeland security, and both candidates have accused the other of voting to cut funding for the federal homeland security department. Lynch has criticized Markey’s 2002 vote against creating a Joint Interagency Homeland Security Task Force, which was activated after the bombing. Markey said he voted no because a provision he thought would strengthen it was taken out, and because it would lead to the military performing duties traditionally reserved for police.

ABCs of this race: Health Care Reform

Markey has harped on Lynch’s 2010 vote against The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. He said Lynch sided with Republicans in voting against what is known as “Obama Care,” and thus opposed strengthening children’s healthcare, barring insurers from viewing women differently than men, and protecting prescription benefits for seniors. Lynch said he voted against the bill because it gave insurance companies too much leverage.

Edward Markey

AGE: 66

HOMETOWN: Malden

BACKGROUND: Represented Malden and Medford as a state representative from 1973 to 1976. Elected to the U.S. House in 1976 after the passing of Torbert Macdonald. Serves on the house committees for Energy and Commerce and Natural Resources.

CAMPAIGN: Markey’s campaign has been somewhat low key, as poll numbers indicate he’s well ahead. His public appearances have been targeted, and have focused on talking points related to jobs, energy and innovation.

FINANCING: Markey has raised $4.7 million this cycle, which he added to the $3.1 million already in his campaign account. He had 18,130 donors. His endorsement by a national organization that works to elect Democrats has brought in money from across the country.

Page 2 of 4 - Markey has called for immediate action to reduce carbon emissions. He says he will push legislation that addresses climate change, promotes clean energy, and fosters clean-tech jobs. He has highlighted his authoring of a bill that calls for $1 billion to be spent to train workers who are moving from traditional energy industries to clean energy jobs.

Markey supports President Obama’s “Race to the Top” program, which is designed to encourage teachers to create innovative lesson plans and new ways to teach students. Markey has touted his role in securing $250 million in federal money for Massachusetts to “increase accountability in the classroom“ and attract the best teachers. He’s also pushed a 1996 bill he authored that created a program that pays for schools and libraries to obtain Internet access at discounted rates.

Stephen Lynch

AGE: 58

HOMETOWN: South Boston

BACKGROUND: Former ironworker; labor lawyer. Elected state representative representing South Boston in 1994. Elected to the state senate in 1996, winning seat vacated by former speaker William M. Bulger. Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2001, winning seat long held by Joseph Moakley. District reconfigured last year to include Quincy and several South Shore towns.

EDUCATION: Bachelor’s degree, Wentworth Institute of Technology; law degree, Boston College Law School; South Boston High School.

CAMPAIGN: Lynch’s campaign has focused on his personal back story as an ironworker and votes he’s cast that bucked the Democratic party line. Compared to Markey, he appears to have placed a higher premium on public visibility.

FINANCING: Lynch raised $2.3 million during this election cycle, a figure that includes $744,000 he transferred from his U.S. House account. He had 3,304 donors, mostly in state.

Lynch is emphasizing repairing roads, bridges and rail systems, and supports the Worcester and New Bedford rail extensions. Lynch believes government spending on such infrastructure repairs and upgrades will serve as a platform for private investment and help the country regain a competitive edge in the global marketplace.

Lynch supports an expedited winding down of the war in Afghanistan and transfer of power to the Afghan government, with the United States playing a limited supporting role. Lynch has touted his senior membership in the U.S. House’s national security oversight subcommittee and his eight delegation trips to Afghanistan.

THE REPUBLICANS

The race for the Republican nomination has been colored by the recent national rancor over Congress voting not to expand federal background checks on gun owners. Candidate Michael Sullivan said he wouldn’t have supported it because it was ineffective; candidates Gabriel Gomez and Daniel Winslow said they would have supported it.

Page 3 of 4 - ABCs of this race: Immigration

The candidates have also commented at length on pathways to citizenship for illegal immigrants currently in the country. Sullivan has said he opposes any form of amnesty, while Gomez and Winslow support reforming federal requirements and programs that would allow those in the country illegally to obtain citizenship and/or permission to work here.

The race to challenge the Democratic nominee pits former U.S. Attorney Michael Sullivan against former U.S. Navy SEAL Gabriel Gomez and state representative Daniel Winslow. Two have South Shore ties - Sullivan lives in Abington and Gomez lives in Cohasset.

CAMPAIGN: Gomez’s campaign has stressed his upbringing as the son of Columbian immigrants – he’s produced many ads in Spanish – and has framed his candidacy as representative of a sorely needed change in the Republican Party, away from career politicians.

FINANCING: Gomez raised $1.2 million this election cycle, $600,000 of which came from a personal loan from him to the campaign.

The issues: Federal spending

Gomez calls for working with Democrats to make “fair” and “equitable” federal spending cuts. He does not support cuts to the military that he deems would hurt the country’s military preparedness. He is against a timetable for troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Gomez advocates immediate bipartisan action to reform Social Security, which he calls “an important lifeline.” He blames the insolvency of the program on inaction and complacency of Washington elected officials, for whom he supports term limits.

Michael Sullivan

AGE: 58

HOMETOWN: Abington

BACKGROUND: A lawyer, Sullivan was first elected as a state representative in 1990, representing the 7th Plymouth District. He became Plymouth County District Attorney in 1995, and the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts in 2001. Under President George W. Bush, he directed the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. Currently a partner at Boston-based law firm Ashcroft-Sullivan.

EDUCATION: Bachelor’s degree, Boston College; law degree, Suffolk University Law School; Boston College High School.

Page 4 of 4 - CAMPAIGN: Sullivan’s campaign has highlighted his experience relative to his challengers. His slogan is “Tested and Trusted.”

FINANCING: Sullivan raised $174,000 in this election cycle.

The issues: Regulations

Sullivan supports reducing federal regulations on employers, which he calls “burdens that are creating an obstacle to job growth and lowering take-home pay.” He also advocates a complete reform of the federal tax code, which he says has been mangled by lobbyists and special interests and invites abuse and manipulation.

Sullivan has cast himself as an ardent protector of Second Amendment rights who will also call for aggressive enforcement of laws that reduce gun violence, such as ownership restrictions for felons and the mentally ill. He does not support new gun bans, saying they are ineffective and would only affect law-abiding citizens. He supports increasing penalties for “straw purchasing,” when a person purchases a gun from a licensed dealership for another person without disclosing who the ultimate possessor of the gun will be.

Daniel Winslow

AGE: 54

HOMETOWN: Norfolk

BACKGROUND: Winslow served as a district court judge under Gov. William Weld and chief legal counsel to Gov. Mitt Romney. He won his seat in the state House of Representatives in 2011 after it was vacated by Richard Ross, who’d moved to the seat vacated by former state and U.S. Sen. Scott Brown.

CAMPAIGN: Winslow’s campaign has emphasized praise he’s received for making creative policy proposals aimed at job growth and reducing the cost of doing business. His campaign frames his thoughts on issues as ideas rather than positions.

FINANCING: Winslow has raised $395,000 this election cycle, $150,000 of which came from a personal loan from him to the campaign.

The issues: The Tax Code

Winslow has railed against what he calls special breaks and subsidies for large corporations in the tax code, and is pushing a plan he calls “The Square Tax.” The plan would lower the corporate tax rate from 35 to 26 percent, and would be paid for by closing corporate tax loopholes.

Winslow says nearly $100 billion can and should be cut from the federal budget by eliminating programs he calls wasteful, redundant, and antiquated. Winslow says the money should instead be pointed toward infrastructure investments that will create jobs.